Hilary Pugh

ALLi Author Member

Location: United Kingdom (the)

Genres: Thriller, Cosy Mystery, Crime, Mystery

I began writing in 1996. I was studying a modern literature course with the Open University and wanted to try out some of the techniques we had studied. I wrote for about the next five years and then put it aside as my career took a different direction away form music and into community adult education.
I trained as a musician and worked as an oboist for several years. I still teach piano at home.
I have published two series of novels - Ian Skair: Private Investigator and The Breakfast Club Detectives.

Hilary Pugh's books

The Laird of Drumlychtoun

A simple case of a missing sister. Or is it?

When Ian Skair is invited to an ancient castle perched on a rocky promontory of the Angus coast, he expects to find a routine missing person case. Little does he know, the Laird of Drumlychtoun and his family have more secrets and black sheep than Ian could have ever anticipated.
As Ian uncovers secrets and intrigues, thefts and legends, he finds himself and the family in a dangerous situation. Can he reunite the laird with his sister and discover the truth behind her disappearance? Or will the family's secrets be too much for them to handle?

Postcards from Jamie

Can Ian and Lottie solve the puzzle of the postcards?

World famous concert pianist Felix Lansman has a collection of postcards sent to him anonymously. He is sure they are from the love of his life, Jamie McLeash. But Jamie disappeared six years ago - the night Felix’s father was murdered. Police failed to make any arrests and the case was closed. Was Jamie a suspect and if so, why is he sending the postcards? Felix wants Ian to find out.
The trail takes Ian all over Scotland and the more he discovers about Jamie the more he is convinced of his innocence. If he finds him, he could help him clear his name. But it soon becomes evident that Ian is not the only one looking for Jamie. He should report his findings to the police, but this could lead to the arrest of an innocent man.

Can he find the real murderer before the murderer finds Jamie?

Mystery at Murriemuir

A sinister discovery in the garden of Murriemuir House leads Ian to a chain of weird events.

Scotland is gradually getting back to normal after lockdown. As people get out and about once more Ian finds his case load increasing and to his surprise one of his new clients is his own brother, Stewart.
Stewart and his wife have bought an old farmhouse and are planning to open a wellness centre, when they make a sinister discovery in an area set aside for forest bathing. This is followed by a series of unexplained and possibly supernatural happenings.
Is the house haunted? Or is someone trying to ruin their business by playing tricks on them?

Will Ian’s attempts to uncover the truth put lives at risk?

The Diva of Dundas Farm

She is going to be murdered on stage every night. All Ian has to do is make sure she is safe off stage.

No one would want to murder the leading lady, would they?
Don’t be too sure.
After a few days at the Dundas Farm opera camp, Ian is beginning to think that everyone the diva meets would be more than pleased to see the back of her. An easy two weeks listening to music on a Scottish alpaca farm is twisting and turning in a distinctly sinister direction. And if she continues to treat him like one of the servants, refusing to tell him anything about her fears, how on earth is Ian going to prevent a tragedy?

The Man in the Red Overcoat

Did he jump or was he pushed?
Ian’s detective agency has hit a dull spot. Until a mysterious woman visits him, a body is found under the Tay Bridge and a French PI arrives on his doorstep.
Ian and Molly become embroiled in the world of art theft when a second rate nineteenth century Scottish portrait painter suddenly becomes inexplicably popular.
Can they unravel the mystery before any more bodies are found?

Death in the Long Walk

Good food, good company and a criminal to catch.

Jonny Cardew is bored. He’s worked hard all his life at a financially rewarding but dull job when all he ever wanted to do was to solve murders. Now he has time on his hands, but is it too late to be a detective?
A chance meeting over breakfast with three quirky characters and a dog in need of rehoming could change his life.
When a body is found at a nearby beauty spot the police believe it to be a case of death by natural causes. Jonny and his friends think differently and set out to discover the truth. On the way they meet some decidedly suspicious people all with motives to kill.

Can the Breakfast Club Detectives solve the case? Or will they uncover things that would have been better left alone?

Death in the River

An early morning dog walk along the river ends with a shocking discovery.

When the body of a man is fished out the River Thames near Windsor, it looks like a straightforward accidental death from drowning following an excess of alcohol. The only problem is that this man died eighteen months ago in a train crash.

Was the first death just a case of mistaken identity or was it more complex than that? The Breakfast Club Detectives set out to discover where the victim spent the last year and a half and why his nearest and dearest thought he had died. It turns out to be a search full of unexpected twists and false trails. A knotty problem for the team becomes more sinister when they discover that the victim was disliked by almost everyone who knew him.

Could they be looking at a case of murder? More to the point, can they solve it?

Death on the Carousel

An evening out leads to a gruesome surprise.

When Jasmine accepts an invitation to visit a vintage circus and funfair she doesn’t expect to be confronted with a dead body. And yet here she is, watching the carousel while innocently munching a hot dog, when a dead man lands at her feet.
The police solve the case in double quick time and a suspect is arrested.
However, his nearest and dearest believe he has been wrongly accused and enlist the help of the Breakfast Club Detectives to investigate and clear his name. But the more they discover the more guilty the suspect appears.
Should they accept defeat and admit this is their first failure? Or can they dig deeper and discover what really happened to the man in the carousel?

Death at the Festival

Accident or Murder?
Jonny Cardew expected a restful few days at the Reimagine the Light Festival listening to enlightening discussions and enjoying good wholesome food.
But sleeping in a tent is not as restful as he hoped and while his wife attends a session on women film directors, Jonny opts for a quieter event where a right-wing speaker reads from her latest book. Not being particularly right wing himself, Jonny hoped to sit quietly in the back and catch up on some sleep. He hadn’t bargained for an overheated tent, an aggressive heckler, and a speaker who falls off the stage unconscious. A victim of poisoning by deadly mushrooms.
The Breakfast Club Detectives embark on a hunt to find out where, when and how Clarissa Mayberry ate her fatal last meal. Initially thought to be an accidental death, suspects are revealed, most with a reason to wish her dead.
Can the detectives get to the bottom of this, or will the death remain a mystery?

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